Dead Inside
by Sunfeather11598
Summary: This black nothingness seemed to go on forever. I had no idea where I was, or why I was here, I only knew this is what I've let myself become. I entered this story in a short story contest, and I thought it would be good to hear from fanfiction readers what they think. Please Review! Rated T for swearing.


Dead Inside

As I look around, I wonder. Or am I even looking around? I can't tell. The entire place around me is black, seeming to have no beginning or end. It appears to be nothing and everything at once; if that makes any sense.

Where Am I?

I call out into the darkness that engulfs the entire place. "Is anyone here…?" I am greeted by silence, and the same façade around me. I start walking, hoping that I will wake up in my nice warm bed, and this was all a weird dream. Soon I see a dim light in the distance, it's far enough in the distance to look like a firefly and it isn't much brighter either. I continue walking, hurrying toward it. Upon arrival I discover an old, dying tree. It was bare, as if autumn had come claiming its leaves, and then left it to shrivel and die. On the tree hung a dim lantern, its light illuminating the tree and its roots that appeared to seep into nothingness.

After a moment of thought, I reached up and grabbed the lantern off of its branch. Since the tree was the only thing I had seen so far, I thought there may be something significant about it. I held the lantern in front of me and walked around the tree, inspecting it. I noticed nothing abnormal about the tree. It seemed like the usual, old dying tree. Its branches hanging down like boney fingers trying to claw and grab anything below. And an old knot hole that looks like it was made by an animal needing a home. I shined the lantern in the knot hole just out of curiosity. Inside there was a book, a piece of paper, and matches. I looked at the book. It had a bookmark in the middle, but it was on the cover; since I saw nothing I opened it to see what it read. _An empty heart leads to an empty soul._ Creepy. I closed the book and then looked at the paper. It had pencil marks as if it had been used for passing notes by a class full of students. I held the book under my arm, and put the matches in my pocket. I then unfolded the paper and held the lantern to try and read it. Everything but one phrase was undecipherable. _Hate doesn't lead to love. _I gulped, even further creeped out by this. I folded the paper and shoved it in my pocket.

I took a last glance at the tree and continued walking. The only sign of life was I, and the only light was the dim lantern dangling from my fingers. I sighed and trudged on, hoping I would find something soon. I walked for what seemed like an eternity before I saw anything else.

What I approached was much creepier than the old tree. It was a graveyard. Just like one you would see in a horror movie. Eerie fog surrounded the area, giving it a creepy and deadly appearance. Surrounding the graveyard was an old black wrought iron fence with a spike on the tip of each rod. The gate blew in the wind that I couldn't feel, screaming in agony. I walked up to the gate and stopped it from moving. I glanced inside the graveyard, and noticed 5 gravestones. I walked in, curious about them and this graveyard in the middle of nowhere. The gate slammed shut behind me with a bang. I was startled to say the least, but I continued over to the graves. The first was just a simple marker, square and laying on the ground. "Here lies Faith." March 29th, 1998- April 5th, 2011. After reading the date I gasped. March 29th 1998 is the day I was born; April 5th 2011, when I lost faith in humanity after seeing a baby and a dog being beaten, and the police doing nothing about it. I shook away the memory and moved to the next grave. "Here lies Hope" March 29th, 1998- June 29th, 2011; the day all of my dreams were crushed. I blinked away tears, and I moved on reluctantly. The next stone continued this strange pattern of days in my life where I lost something... "Here lies Trust" March 29th, 1998-October 15th, 2011. The very day I heard my best friend and my other friends talking about me behind my back. "She's so ugly…" "She's such a whiny bitch, why do you hang out with her?" While remembering that, my hands clenched into tight fists, and I punched the gravestone hard enough a chunk of rock flew off, and hit the next grave which was behind it. I stomped over to it, still fuming from the last one. "Here lies Love" March 29th, 1998-April 18th, 2012. At that I snapped. "What the hell is going on!? What do you want from me!" I started kicking the grave as hard as I could, wanting it to disappear. It brought back the memory of the day that I decided I was done with love. My boyfriend had been making out with another girl. That wasn't why I gave up. He had cheated several times before; I had forgiven him each time. The biggest issue was the girl he was kissing. My ex best friend who had stabbed me in the back months earlier. Coming back to reality, or whatever this place is, I noticed the gravestone in front of me had several cracks, and the words were barely legible now. I shook my head and moved on, determined not to let my anger stop me from seeing the last grave. "Here Lies Happiness" March 29th, 1998-March 29th, 2013. I sighed, feeling defeated. The date was today, my birthday. The day everyone forgot me.

I fell to my knees in front of the grave. Tears poured down my face as water when a blocked pipe bursts. I realized how alone I am. Maybe this place I'm in, maybe it's meant to represent me. There is no one here but me. There Is only one small light, and its growing dimmer. I hugged my knees to my chest and continued to cry my eyes out. This is who I've let myself become. And I want to run away from it.

I wiped my eyes and I stood up, and ran. I ran, I didn't know where I was going, nor did I care. I just wanted to get away. Away from whatever this place is, and what it seems to represent; me. I was running from myself. I kept running and running, nothing but black surrounded me. It seemed like an eternity later when my legs collapsed under me. I just sat there. I let the tears come back and blur the dark surrounding me.

I felt like I could just lay there and die. As I sat there conflicted and upset, I looked up to see a tall dark figure. Scythe in hand, ripped cloak covering him, and a dark hood hiding his face. A bony hand gripped the scythe and slowly raised it. The other hand grasped the scythe, and swung down at me. I rolled out of the way just in time as the scythe pierced the black nothing-ness below. As I got up, he grabbed me. I screamed as I saw the scythe quickly approaching my face, and then everything went black.


End file.
